St. Joseph soccer to push for playoffs under new coach

By: Nathan Smith
Wednesday, August 28, 2019 | 7:08 PM

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Paul O’Donnell might be entering his first season as St. Joseph’s soccer coach, but he is no stranger to the program.

O’Donnell was an assistant the previous five seasons under previous coach Matt Skoda. He is also a former Spartans player.

“I know where I want to see the team improve,” O’Donnell said. “I think we have some really good players. We want to build a foundation around our experience.”

Skoda, the athletic director at St. Joseph, will be an assistant coach.

O’Donnell expressed excitement over the Spartans’ depth. As one of the smallest WPIAL schools — only six were lower on the latest PIAA enrollment figures — depth can be a luxury for the program.

“We are deeper than we have been in my time here,” O’Donnell said. “A lot of this group has been playing together for a while now.”

The team will need to find a way to replace Daniel Fabregas. The all-WPIAL forward was the focal point of the team’s offense last season with 41 goals with 13 assists.

The team knows no one player likely will replace Fabregas’ production. So the Spartans are looking to spread the wealth. The team’s attack will turn to players such as senior Eli Swierczewski, junior Paul Shadle and sophomore Rylan Zale for production.

“When you lose a player who scores a lot of goals, people think the team is devastated,” Swierczewski said. “But we have multiple players who can step up and score. We might have to be more selfish to put the ball in the back of the net.”

Junior Andrew Sullivan moved from defense to striker in the offseason.

One of the biggest moves has been for Zach Szep. The junior played in front of the net for the Spartans last season, but his athleticism made him a natural fit in the field.

“He blew us away as a field player,” O’Donnell said. “We had a conversation about if he still wanted to play goalie. But he was offering too much to put into the spot.”

Senior Mason Hurlbut returns to the goalkeeper spot, but the team has options at the position. Freshman Quinn Stefaniak has experience at keeper. Regardless of who starts in goal, he will receive support from a talented group of defenders that includes senior Luke Zagurskie and junior Sean LeMay.

For the second straight season, St. Joseph will have a single co-op team because of a low number of female players.

“It was unfortunate last year because we didn’t know there wouldn’t be a girls team until right before the season,” O’Donnell said. “They didn’t go through conditioning or any practices, so it put them in a bad position. But this year, they have gone through conditions and the indoor stuff we do in the offseason.”

Despite the coaching change, St. Joseph isn’t lowering expectations. The team wants to earn a WPIAL playoff berth for the first time since 2016.

“Playoffs are the goal,” Swierczewski said. “We want to get a shot to win some games and go deep into the postseason.”

St. Joseph starts the season Saturday at the Avonworth Tournament. The Vikings will play the host team at 2 p.m.

Tags: St. Joseph